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Despite the loss of a wicket close to stumps, Western Australia remains well and truly in control of its first-class match against the West Indies at the end of day one at the WACA ground in Perth.The Warriors, having earlier ended the visitors’ innings at a score of 132, will head into the second day trailing by just twenty-two runs with eight wickets still in hand, with Test batsman Justin Langer (40*) and nightwatchman Matthew Nicholson (0*) at the helm.After a woeful batting performance marred their opening first-class match of their new Australian tour, the West Indian bowlers did well to capture the scalp of the dangerous Adam Gilchrist just nine overs into the home team’s innings.It was a good start from the visitors, who had minutes before suffered a huge blow with the news that Kerry Jeremy had sustained a broken jaw while batting and might need to be sent home. To their credit, they were able to get some of their own back when they had the Warriors’ keeper caught behind off Mervyn Dillon. Gilchrist, who had taken five catches during the West Indian innings, was dismissed for 14 off twenty balls.Despite the fiery nature of the WACA wicket, the tourists found it hard to break through Western Australia’s batting. Mike Hussey (41) and Langer forged a solid partnership of seventy-six, before the opener was brilliantly caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Courtney Browne off the bowling of Marlon Black. The dismissal was particularly satisfying for the bowler, who had been struck for four through gully only three balls before.Black proved to be the most efficient of the West Indian bowlers, returning figures of 1/26 off his eleven overs. The other wicket taker, Dillon, finished with 1/33 off ten overs, while Colin Stuart was the most expensive, conceding thirty-four runs from his six overs.Earlier in the day, the West Indian batsmen had been given what might well shape as a taste of things to come when they were reduced to 4/18 at one stage on their way to their paltry total.But for the resistance offered by their last three batsmen – Jeremy (who retired hurt on 7 when a dogged eighty-five minute stay was ended by a nasty bouncer from speedster Nicholson), Black (11 in thirty-eight minutes) and Stuart (15 in thirty-two minutes), the tourists would not have even avoided the ignominy of being bowled out for less than 100. They must surely be hoping that the addition of Brian Lara to the lineup will add the much needed respectability by the time that the first Test begins in Brisbane a fortnight from now.For the moment, they will just hope to bowl as best as they can and try to limit Western Australia to a manageable total and provided a platform from which their batsman can make a more positive fist of things at some time on Saturday.

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side kept their hopes of securing a domestic treble alive on Monday night, with the Bhoys besting Dundee United 3-0 in the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Tannadice.

In a dominant performance – with the Hoops enjoying 60% possession, having 14 efforts at goal and ensuring the Tangerines failed to hit the target with a single shot – a first-half Callum McGregor strike and a second-half brace from Giorgos Giakoumakis proved to be the difference between the two sides – with the victory setting up a semi-final clash against Rangers at Hampden Park on April 16.

In terms of Celtic’s individual performances, McGregor was arguably the stand-out, with the 28-year-old midfielder picking up the Man of the Match award on the night, however, the second-half cameo of Karamoko Dembele will also have pleased Postecoglou greatly, as the 19-year-old was a real live wire upon his introduction.

“Flashes”

Indeed, being brought on in the 76th minute of the tie, the £225k-rated winger immediately looked as if he would make things happen for Celtic – which he duly did with two minutes of normal time remaining, brilliantly turning Ross Graham with a subtle dummy on the right flank, before driving into the United penalty area and setting up Giakoumakis for the Hoops’ third of the night.

Subsequently, the England U18 international received praise for the impact he made on the fixture, with The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin stating he believed that there were “some nice flashes from Dembele after he came on,” while Lewis Laird claimed that the 19-year-old “looked a threat whenever he got on the ball.”

As such, considering his impressive performance in the cup tie, surely Postecoglou has now been convinced that Dembele is deserving of a new contract at Parkhead, with the teenager’s current deal set to expire at the end of the season.

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Indeed, after showing flashes of his true ability against Dundee United, it would not be surprising to see the youngster kick on over the remainder of the current campaign – something which would undoubtedly come as a huge plus to Celtic.

AND in other news: Sold for peanuts, now worth £8.1m: “Staggering” £23k-p/w dud has left Celtic red-faced

Cricket Australia (CA) has been given assurances that the Pakistan players in the BBL will play the entire competition despite a scheduled T20I tour of Sri Lanka in January, while CA has sent a party to Pakistan to finalise plans for Australia’s T20I tour there prior to the T20 World Cup. CA chief executive Todd Greenberg also confirmed that Mackay and Darwin will host Tests against Bangladesh in Australia’s winter with the dates to be announced in January.There had been a concern that the group of Pakistan players playing in the BBL, including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali, might be withdrawn to play in a brief T20I series in Sri Lanka in early January that the PCB recently announced.But Greenberg, who held a wide-ranging chat with a group of reporters on the morning of the third Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval, said he was confident the players would remain in the BBL. “We’ve been told that if they’ve been signed by the BBL, they’ll play [the whole BBL],” Greenberg said.Dates for Australia’s T20I tour of Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup have yet to be announced but Greenberg said that it was going ahead, with CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association sending delegates to the country for a pre-tour security check.Related

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“We’ve just sent a couple of people to Pakistan to do a pre-tour for the T20I games in February,” he said. “We’re going to have some conversations with the players after the [Ashes] series and explain to them how that will work with security. But I went there with them in 2022 and it was an amazing experience.”The three-match ODI portion of that tour, which is part of the FTP, will be moved to June after the PSL and the IPL have been completed. That will tie in with three ODIs and three T20Is in Bangladesh in the same month.Bangladesh’s visit to Australia later in the year during August will see a return of Test cricket to the Top End for the first time since 2004 with Mackay hosting its first Test match.Meanwhile, CA remains committed to playing at least one pink-ball Test per year until 2031. Greenberg said the success of it as a broadcast product and as an in-stadium experience for fans means it will remain in place despite some recent questions around the need for it.”I’ve just reviewed the numbers from the Gabba, the pink-ball Test was unbelievable,” Greenberg said. “The night session, particularly, has double the number of viewers that we would get from the last session here today. There’s no doubt that it’s a successful opportunity for cricket. It gets more people watching and more people engaged in it.”It’s in our broadcast contracts until 2031 that we will play a pink-ball Test. So it’s not going anywhere. There’s not going to be more of it, I’m not going to be playing five of them over summer. But it has real benefits. I understand that there’ll be people who’ll be critical of it, and I’m not asking for everyone to love it. But this is the evolution of Test cricket.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Suresh Raina: pulling India Blue out of a hole © Cricinfo Ltd

Complementing Suresh Raina’s composed 92 with an impressive performance in the field, India Blue sneaked home to a 12-run win in the opening match of the Challenger Trophy at Motera. Raina helped his side overcome a poor start, when they had stumbled to 41 for 4 in swinging conditions, and the fighting target proved enough eventually, with their bowlers overcoming the problems posed by the evening dew.The Reds were guilty of losing wickets at crucial junctures, just when solid partnerships were beginning to take shape. Legspinner Amit Mishra slipped in the googlies and foxed Virat Kohli and S Badrinath, the well-set batsmen, to wrest the initiative. A late-charge from Praveen Kumar and Mahesh Rawat, adding 62 in just under 10 overs, provided Reds with hope but their dismissals in quick succession effectively put an end to the contest.It was a revival of sorts from Blues after struggling early on. Not much went their way early on after Virender Sehwag won the toss and surprisingly, with all the talk of evening dew, chose to bat The top-order slide, which began with the first ball of the match, was orchestrated by seamer Kumar, whose alarming inswing caught the Blues off guard on a pitch which required the batsmen to gauge the bounce and movement before launching a boundary assault.Ajinkya Rahane, riding on a crest after his dream debut season for Mumbai, was literally brought down to his knees as the ball darted in off the air, clipped the pads and flattened the off stump. Both Kumar and Ishant Sharma applied the pressure early on by bowling to their strengths. Sehwag’s short stint was scratchy at best and Dinesh Karthik, under pressure to keep his place in the Indian one-day squad, was back in the hutch for a first-ball duck, playing across the line to a ball that shaped in.At 41 for 4, Blues turned to Raina to lend some stability to the innings. Effortless cover drives combined with deft cuts square of the wicket, shots manufactured even without the luxury of width. Using supple wrists, Raina turned several deliveries from outside the off stump and picked the gaps on the leg side. Along with local boy Niraj Patel, Raina staged a quick recovery and Reds, who held the upper hand for a sizeable passage of play before the halfway stage, gradually felt the heat. Raina’s knock was largely risk-free, and even his chip shots over the infield landed safely.

Praveen Kumar’s early strikes pegged the Blues back © Cricinfo Ltd

The fall of Niraj’s wicket, caught at midwicket while trying to loft over the infield, didn’t deter Raina, who carried on the charge by carting the spin duo of Pragyan Ojha and S Badrinath for huge sixes. Joginder Sharma played the supporting act in a stand of 49, a period when the ball stopped doing much in the air. With Raina still around, the Blues looked good to post a score of over 250. However, a pull off Trivedi, probably timed too well for his own good, signalled an end to his innings as Kohli pulled off a sharp catch just inches off the ground at the deep midwicket boundary.Amit Mishra and Ramesh Powar- who scored a breezy 21 off 13 balls – pushed the scoring towards the end, and the sloppy fielding in the outfield by the Reds turned to be an added bonus. The Blues didn’t let up with the ball. It didn’t take too long for them to strike with Gautam Gambhir paying the price for attempting a cheeky single in the first over. Gambhir was quick on his feet as he pushed the ball to mid-on, but Sehwag was a notch quicker as he gathered the ball and threw down the middle stump at the non-striker’s end.The chase stalled in the early overs with Ranadeb Bose and Joginder maintaining a immaculate line outside off. Kaif broke the shackles in the fifth over when he dispatched two half-volleys off Bose through the off side. He then settled into Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh’s lively pace with sweetly-timed strokes down leg and past mid-off. Kohli, the promising Delhi batsman, settled in quickly and the pair kept the chase on track.However, their dismissals – Kaif caught brilliantly by Swapnil Asnodkar at midwicket – revived the Blues. Badrinath carried on the fight, showing plenty of urgency in rotating the strike with 21 singles in his 41 but his departure, unable to read a Mishra googly, disturbed the momentum of the innings.As the asking-rate increased, Rawat and Praveen Kumar revived Red’s hopes with a brisk half-century stand. But it was a case of too little too late. Kumar perished for 37, holing out to long-on, and Rawat, three short of his fifty, flicked the ball onto his stumps while attempting an adventurous scoop over fine leg. Joginder rounded off an impressive evening with three wickets, and the Blues vindicated Sehwag’s decision to bat first.

Samir Inamdar: ‘We are extremely pleased’ © ICC

Cricket Kenya has announced a six-year partnership with Nimbus Sport for the management of commercial and television rights. The deal gives Kenyan cricket a massive boost and will be worth a minimum of US$150,000 a year, and could bring in as much as US$1 million over the full term.The news comes after the board had spent months trying to persuade people to invest in the national game. The current Cricket Kenya board, which took office in May 2005, had struggled to cast off the legacy of the old regime, but this deal could open the door to more sponsorships and take Kenyan cricket forward after three or four years in the doldrums.”We are extremely pleased to be associated with the world’s leading sports marketing agency in cricket,” Samir Inamdar, the chairman of Cricket Kenya, said. “Nimbus Sport had earlier managed the commercial rights and television production for the Kenya – Bangladesh series in 2006. We were delighted with the unprecedented visibility and reach that Kenyan cricket got through this association.”Nimbus are the commercial rights partner for the Afro-Asia Cup and has also managed sponsorship sales for Zimbabwe Cricket for the Zimbabwe – Bangladesh series in 2006. This partnership with Kenya will add to their presence in Africa.”We are very excited with our partnership with Cricket Kenya,” Digvijay Singh, the chief executive of Nimbus Sport, said. “We believe that Kenya has the potential for being an ideal and active cricketing destination. The combination of picturesque grounds, relaxed ambience and quality cricket along with extremely attractive tourism destinations presents immense marketing potential and opportunities.”

Scorecard

Jacques Rudolph feels the pain © Getty Images

First-class debutant Shawn Gillies made a mockery of South Africa’s top order and then Beau Casson took 4 for 21 to force the follow-on on a miserable day for the visitors at the WACA.Gillies bagged the wickets of both openers in his first over and then snared a third just two overs later to open the door for Casson to clean up. At stumps South Africa were 2 for 25, trailing by 187 runs and in need of some seriously staunch batting to save the match on the final day.South Africa were already on the back foot at tea, losing four wickets for 116 after the home side had declared their first innings at 8 for 391. But things got worse for them as they lost eight wickets for 88 in the final session.It was medium-pacer Gillies, called into the state team for the first time after some impressive performances at club level in Perth, who did the damage in the afteroon. With his second delivery, the 24-year-old bowled opener AB de Villiers for 27 after the South African dragged the ball onto his stumps. De Villiers and partner Jacques Rudolph had added 71 runs and looked comfortable until Gillies was introduced. Just four balls later Gillies, a Jamaican-born allrounder, struck again as Rudolph, on 43, lifted a catch to David Bandy at point with the score on 72. That was about as good as it got for South Africa.Two overs later he dismissed Ashwell Prince, caught near the boundary after top-edging a hook shot. That wicket saw South Africa slump to 84 for 3 and gave Gillies figures of 3 for 7 – not a bad start for his first three overs of first-class cricket. Herschelle Gibbs then helped steady the ship but he fell just before tea, bowled by Ben Edmondson for 25.But this stability was only transitory – after tea South Africa lost their last six first-innings wickets for 63 runs, and the first two of their second innings for 25.Earlier in the day Western Australia declared their innings closed half an hour before lunch after the South Africans failed to stamp their authority on a state team which has lost its first four domestic matches. Charl Langeveldt was the best of the South African bowlers taking 4 for 104 from 24 overs.South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur denied there was any cause for panic amongst his ranks He said the players simply needed to blow out some cobwebs after their tour of India where they played four one-day matches.”We haven’t pushed any panic buttons,” he said. “The guys are still very, very tight. We have come across four or five time zones in the last week and that was almost expected. We’ve been very low intensity, obviously building up to next week and then to the Test match.”

Eagles 222 and 89 for 3 require 302 runs to beat Western Province Boland 242 and 371 for 9 dec (Puttick 98, Strydom 78, Bassage 56, Duminy 55*)
ScorecardAt Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein Western Province Boland put the Eagles under pressure after declaring at 371 for 9 and then reducing them to 89 for 3 on the third day of their SuperSport Series clash.The top four Western Province batsmen all passed fifty, with Andrew Puttick falling for 98. He had struck 16 fours and one six in his five-hour, 190-ball stay at the crease before he was caught off the bowling of James Henderson. Strydom scored 78 before he fell to Cliff Deacon. The runs continued to flow as Ashwell Prince joined the party, putting on 55 with JP Duminy before he became Henderson’s second victim, caught for 26. With three quick wickets falling Prince called them off at 371 for 7 with Duminy not out on 55. He had spent three hours at the crease striking six boundaries.An early setback for the Eagles left them at 45 for 3 as they lost DaveyJacobs, caught behind off Alan Dawson for 9, James Henderson, trapped leg-before by Rory Kleinveldt for 11 and Ryan Bailey clean bowled by CharlWilloughby for 1. Jonathan Beukes (46) and Morne van Wyk (19) saw theEagles through to 89 for 3 when stumps were drawn.Titans 213 and 226 for 5 (de Bruyn 91*) lead Dolphins 294by 145 runs
ScorecardAnother early day at Kingsmead in Durban saw the Titans and Dolphinssquaring up for what could be an exciting finish, with the Titans holding alead of 145 with five wickets standing going into the final day.The Titans’ second innings never received the momentum that they required aswickets fell at crucial stages. Partnerships were broken just as they becamethreatening. Martin van Jaarsveld was caught for 34 just as he began to look dangerous. Justin Kemp fell for 27 while Geoffrey Toyana lost his wicket on 21. In the end it was left to Zander de Bruyn, not out on 91, and Kruger van Wyk, unbeaten on 27, to bat the Titans to 226 for 5 when bad light forced the players off the field.Lions 175 for 9 dec and 277 for 9 dec (Motaung 116, Peterson 4-84)lead Warriors 217 by 235 runs
ScorecardAt St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, Tyron Henderson’s heroic 59 off 64 balls gave the Warriors a slender first-innings lead of 42 over the Lions.Henderson and Abongile Sodumo (34) had put together a gutsy eighth-wicket partnership of 45 to see the Warriors edge ahead before being bowled out for 217.The Lions made the best possible start, with Adam Bacher (47) and William Motaung putting on 133 for the first wicket. With the loss of Bacher the Lions lost their way and were it not for a match-saving maiden hundred from Motaung, the Lions may have faced an early defeat. HD Ackerman put together a determined 31 before the Lions were forced to declare at 217 for 9. The declaration came because of an agreement by the Lions to not bat the injured Charl Langeveldt.The Warriors will bat tomorrow with a getable target of 236.Keith Lane works for Cricinfo in South Africa.

Australian batsman Simon Katich was presented with the coveted Hampshire Players’ Player of the Year award for 2003 at the awards ceremony on Monday evening at the Rose Bowl.The award, voted for by his fellow squad members and presented by Southampton and England footballer James Beattie, was the culmination of a superb inaugral season for the left-hander.’Kat’, as he is known in the dressing room, was delighted to recieve the trophy. “I am really honoured to win this award, especially as it comes from a vote from my colleagues,” he said.Katich has been Hampshire’s most consistent batsmen, scoring over 1,000 first-class runs and over 700 in the limited-overs form, scoring five centuries in the process.All-rounder James Hamblin recieved the ‘Olive Ford Memorial Trophy’ for the most improved uncapped player of the year. Hamblin received the award from Olive Ford’s sonBrian, the former Chairman of Hampshire County Cricket Club.

New Zealand’s fighting recovery to win last night’s first game in the VB Series over Australia at Melbourne provided plenty for sports journalists to get their teeth into.Chasing a target of 200, Australia fell over for 176 to hand New Zealand a surprise first-up victory.The New Zealand Herald: “It could not have been a more astonishing turn-up, given that Australia had been coasting at the start of the chase, losing Mark Waugh early, but then piling on the runs courtesy of Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Michael Bevan – who all batted as though they had a bonus point in mind.”The slightly reckless plan turned to custard through the middle of the innings, when Shane Bond first had Ponting caught by James Franklin at fine-leg and then enticed Bevan to slash high to the same fieldsman at third man.”Australia’s task may not have been helped by an eight-minute delay because of a crowd disturbance in the Great Southern Stand, where police evicted more than 200 spectators who had been hurling rubbish on to the field.”Whatever the impact, Steve Waugh’s side were unable to deal with the pressure applied by New Zealand during the second half of the chase, as Bond’s good work was built on by Cairns, Vettori and Harris.”The Sydney Morning Herald: “Ponting and Michael Bevan, two of the fastest men between wickets in the world, pushed frenzied singles and slashed boundaries but the heady pace had an intoxicating effect.”‘I’m very disappointed, we batted very poorly,'” Australian captain Steve Waugh said.”‘Full credit to New Zealand and the way they came back after being 7-90, but we should have won the game from there.”‘It was really basically stupid play by all batsmen.'””The beneficiary was the previously humbled Bond.”The New Zealand quick put his side back in the game with two important wickets.”In the 19th over, with the score at 2-98, Bond slid a ball down the leg side and Ponting obliged by flicking it off his hip and down the throat of James Franklin on the fine-leg fence. His 45 was made from 54 balls.”Six runs run later, Bevan fell slashing a wide ball high outside his off stump and top-edging to Franklin. Bevan’s dismissal for 27 off 46 balls gave the Kiwis a sniff at 4-104.”Peter Roebuck, The Sydney Morning Herald: “Thanks to [Chris] Harris, the Kiwis gave their hosts something to chase, which they failed to catch, all-rounder Chris Cairns taking three key wickets as Steve Waugh’s men fell 23 runs short.”In this brand of cricket a batsman is obliged to keep the score moving along, like a drummer in a rock band keeping the beat going. A team batting first cannot predict the sort of score needed to trouble its opponents and can push too hard or too soft.”Top-class bowling by the Australians pushed the Kiwi batsmen into error. Still, it was only one innings and, as was seen in the Test series and later in the evening last night, these New Zealanders can think up ways of putting the Australians on the back foot.”The Weekend Australian: “For years now, long-suffering Australian cricket fans desperate for a competitive home summer have been awaiting this season’s showdown between the game’s heavyweights.”What few anticipated, however, was that the other fighter would be a recent graduate from the lightweight division and would be clad in the black trunks of New Zealand, rather than the eponymous green of South Africa.”Last night’s opening one-day international at the MCG provided a stark illustration of the difference between the repeatedly disappointing Proteas and the constantly surprising Kiwis.”In short, the trans-Tasman opponents don’t understand when they’re beaten.”Bounced out for 199 on a lively MCG pitch by Australia’s menacing pace attack, New Zealand bounced back under the floodlights after Australia appeared set, not just for victory, but for the bonus point granted to teams who win in double quick time.”To say the summer needed an Australian loss (just their third international defeat of any kind at home since 1999) might rattle the patriots, but would satisfy the realists.”That it took the dogged Kiwis to finally inflict it should surprise nobody.”

Sussex University overcame three over reducing rain breaks to ultimately triumph in this inaugural Varsity Cricket match at the Saffrons. Not helped by having their overs reduced on three separate occasions, Sussex were restricted early on by the combination of tight bowling from the impressive Matt Bibby and Dave Lester plus some athletic fielding from the infield.Sussex University took a while to show their pedigree until Robert Crufts arrived at the crease. Crufts and skipper Awais Asif found the required momentum and the last 10 overs yielded 68 runs, however, it still looked a meagre total whilst Brighton’s opening partnership of Geoff Raggett and Ben Hudson were at the crease.At 86-0 off 17 overs, the game was apparently won, however, a hostile spell from Ollie Wills changed the game completely as he cleaned bowled both openers and sped through the defences of the middle order. Reduced to 106-7 in a mere seven overs the game was up save for some lusty blows from Bibby.With Ollie Wills the unanimous choice as The Atlantis Man of The Match Award, the event sponsors handed over the trophy to Sussex’s delighted captain Awais Asif. Once again the cricket was good the weather and crowds not.